The first night Zaria Porter ‘27 spent at Guilford College, she was completely alone. Her suitcases sat unopened in Bryan Hall. The sun had gone down, and the hallways were silent. For the first time in her life, she was more than a thousand miles away from her Oklahoma home and everything and everyone she knew.

“It was just me,” she says. “I was the first person to move in. But honestly, I think I needed that. It gave me a moment to center myself, to say, This is new, but it’s mine.”

When Zaria chose Guilford, she didn’t know a soul in Greensboro. She picked the College after seeing photos of its green canopy and reading about its small size and big heart. “I looked at pictures of the campus and thought it was beautiful,” she says. “Greensboro is a bigger city than where I’m from, and I wanted to branch out. Even though it was far from home, I felt comfortable enough to take the leap.”

What she couldn’t have researched – what no brochure could capture – was the depth of community she’d find at Guilford when she arrived.

From her first day, Guilford’s kindness found her. Zaria and her family parked behind Dana Auditorium and began looking for Founders Hall to check in.

“We didn’t know where anything was,” she says. “We were just wandering,” she says. “People stopped to help.”

When Zaria walked into Founders Hall, Terra Roane, now Guilford’s Dean of Students, was there. “She welcomed me, handed me a pen to sign the class book, and smiled,” Zaria remembers. “That simple moment set the tone for everything that came next.”

Three years later, Zaria is one of those welcoming faces. She’s the kind of person who tosses kindness into the air like confetti — small compliments that ripple outward. “I give people compliments all the time,” she says. “They’re genuine, but it’s also a way to connect. Maybe it’s just ‘I like your shirt,’ but then the next time we see each other, we wave. It starts to feel like family.”

That, says Zaria, is how community works at Guilford — through small gestures that add up to something lasting.

Zaria double majors in Secondary Education and English & Media Studies, with a minor in Spanish. She dreams of teaching high school English. Her education at Guilford has gone far beyond the classroom. She’s a Bonner Scholar, an Ethical Leadership Fellow (ELF), a tutor for local elementary students, and treasurer of the Outdoor Club — an ironic twist for someone who once swore off trees and camping.

“I never thought I’d be in an outdoors club,” she says. “I’d never gone hiking in my life. But people I met through ELF invited me to join, and I said, ‘Sure, I’ll try it.’ And now I’m on the executive board.”

That willingness to say yes — to new people, new challenges, new versions of herself — has been the heartbeat of Zaria’s college experience. “At home, it was easy to stay in my bubble,” she says. “Here, I didn’t know anyone, and that made it easier to try new things. No one had expectations of me. I could just be open.”

For Zaria, that openness has paid back tenfold. Faculty members check in, classmates become lifelong friends, and passing faces turn into familiar ones. “Guilford is small enough that you see the same people every day,” she says. “You feel seen. That’s what makes it different. You don’t just belong — you matter.”

Ask her what she’d tell someone considering Guilford, and Zaria doesn’t hesitate. “This community? It’s a two-way street,” she says. “If you’re willing to put in care and effort, you’ll be amazed by what comes back to you. This place gives back so much more than what you give.”

Somewhere between the trees she once feared and the friends she now can’t imagine life without, Zaria found what she came here for: a community that helped her grow roots — and wings. If you’re looking for that type of closeness in your college search, contact Steve Mencarini.